Growing wheat like wine: Kansas producer experiments with farmingKansas wheat farmer practices to produce optimal flavorthe wheat for berries his – once ownpractices tableand topdressing Wade Bangerter is his own drained and dried – are with fertilizers that benefit best customer. Each har- ready to eat, can be stored what’s growing above and vest, he scoops wheat by in the fridge for a week or beneath the soil surface. the bucketful out of the frozen for use for the next “We’re trying to take combine or wheat truck month. a more holistic approach and saves it back to clean, His favorite way to pre- to the soil than we had prepare and eat for the pare wheat berries is to in the past,” he said. “I’m year to come. But anyone mix in some honey and cin- doing everything we can can enjoy the nutty but namon as a side dish, but to balance the soil – and sweet flavor of wheat ker- he also puts them in soups that’s unlocking a lot of nu- nels – also referred to as and salads and substitutes trients. I’m trying to grow wheat berries – prepared wheat berries for rice. In wheat like people grow whole and unprocessed – addition to being a great wine – it’s all about how along with gaining a great ingredient, wheat berries soil affects flavor.” set of nutritional benefits. include all of the benefits “My next goal after per- “Wheat berries are ver- of whole wheat foods – in- fecting, growing and pack- satile and have a nice fla- cluding improved heart aging is to start a farm to vor,” Bangerter said. “It’s and bone health, prevent- table internet business to great nutrition, and it’s af- ing anemia and promoting get this very healthy wheat fordable.” blood sugar control. Wheat to the people this year,” Bangerter is a berries also include up to he said. third-generation farmer 24 percent of daily fiber Bangerter’s 2021 wheat who grows dryland wheat, requirements and 10 per- crop is greening up nice- corn and milo in Wichita, cent of recommended ly and looks healthy with Wallace and Logan coun- daily iron intake in a quar- good color, thanks to catch- ties. After farming for ter-cup serving. ing crucial rainfall last nearly 40 years, he noticed After finding wheat week. His fields received the trend of consumers berries were not only de- timely rain in the fall at eating fewer wheat foods licious but also easy to planting that established but did not give it much include in family meals, a good stand that endured thought until his own fam- Bangerter took his experi- below zero temperatures ily started debating the mentation a step further – without much freeze dam- health attributes of wheat. trying to see if what he was age. As for how that wheat He decided to do his own He started by trying whole kernels to include a simple strategy for pre- doing in the field resulted will yield – and taste – research, followed by ex- to grind his wheat into more healthy, whole wheat paring the wheat berries in a difference in taste. those results will come perimentation on the farm flour but quickly realized products in his diet. – add three cups of water Microbial activity is now this summer when those and in the kitchen to see doing so required a lot of Using the wheat for each cup of wheat and his focus of soil manage- kernels come off the com- how farming practices and time and effort. Instead, cleaned and stored from boil for an hour. This prac- ment, which he promotes bine and into the pot on flavor interact. he switched to preparing his fields, Bangerter has tice is a bit lengthy, but by implementing no-till Bangerter’s stove. American Soybean Association and American Farm Bureau Federation: Stepping on stepped-up basis has big consequences Any change in capital gains tax policy that eliminates may not realize is that it could take years of returns ers can continue feeding America’s families.” or scales back stepped-up basis could result in a massive to equal the amount of the tax if stepped-up basis is Scott Gerlt, ASA economist, and John Newton, Farm tax burden on the agricultural sector according to new reduced, or worse, eliminated. If we inherit farmland Bureau chief economist, explain in a joint article re- analysis by the American Soybean Association and the without the step-up to level the playing field for paying leased April 7 that heirs facing higher taxes would incur American Farm Bureau Federation. capital gains, there is a significant cost to sell the land, steep costs after bringing the land to market, thereby To minimize the impact of burdensome capital gains which throws off the market for not just farmers but for increasing costs for everyone else in the marketplace. taxes, farmers and ranchers use stepped-up basis, which everyone.” And, if an estate is passed on with debt, it may not be provides a reset for the asset value basis during inter- “The value of farms is tied up in land and equipment, possible for the family to meet the tax obligation. Gerlt generational transfers. The magnitude of the tax burden and many hardworking farmers struggle just to make and Newton in their analysis offer perspective across that would be felt if basis is taken away or reduced ends meet,” said AFBF president Zippy Duvall. “Elimi- the U.S. and give real examples of the damage stepped- would likely significantly exceed the annual income gen- nating stepped-up basis would make passing the family up basis changes could cause. Bottom line: Eliminating erated by the assets, something that has soy and other farm to the next generation much more difficult when stepped-up basis to generate more federal income risks American farmers concerned. the capital gains taxes would exceed a farm’s net income the livelihood of America’s family farms and the eco- Kevin Scott, soybean farmer from Valley Springs, in many cases and require years to pay-off. We urge law- nomic sustainability of these family operations long into South Dakota and president of ASA, said, “What people makers to leave stepped-up basis intact to ensure farm- the future. Pandemic underscores Agriculture well-represented beefBy Abbie Burnett demandall USDA Select beef.trendspatterns were upended – It’s been a year. A long, “Most folks were work- middle meats deceased in arduous year since last ing from home and had value in relation to ends, March when grocery stores more time,” O’Diam said. like the chuck and round. and restaurants around the “They were cooking more Last winter, rib-eyes were world had their business than they ever had, so they more expensive than ten- plans radically changed in educated themselves on derloins at one point. It just a few days. what quality meat is. That was hard for foodservice As they adjusted day-to- helped drive demand for meat buyers to predict the day operations, one beef high quality like Certified market. industry trend resonated Angus Beef to all-time his- “That’s a pretty black- louder: “quality matters.” toric levels.” and-white indicator that David O’Diam saw it un- For a fraction of the restaurants drive value to fold from his perspective price, their expensive the entire carcass,” she as vice president of retail nights out became afford- said. for the Certified Angus able at home, he said, but Enjoying more beef at Beef® (CAB®) brand. Re- sales extended beyond home this past year has tail beef sales during the steaks. The chuck and greatly educated shoppers, pandemic displaced much round primal cuts gained which could sustain high- of the trade usually en- value on their middle-meat er retail sales of premium joyed by foodservice. counterparts. Consumers beef even as restaurants It took 2.43 million cat- looked for the logo they re- reopen here and abroad. tle to supply the 608 mil- called from their favorite On the export front, lion pounds of CAB cuts restaurants. Cody Jones, CAB vice sold by 3,000 retail part- With more entertain- president of internation- ners in fiscal 2020. That’s ment dollars diverted to al, said partners around more than the volume of retail, those who did con- the globe were doubling tinue to venture out to down on their commitment dine concentrated on a to quality. high-quality eating expe- “They’re telling us, rience. ‘Yeah, we’re not downgrad- Restaurants are still ing at all. We think this is struggling. “There is a big our chance to shine above hole to dig out of,” said the competition,’” he said. Sara Scott, CAB vice pres- Tourism took a hit ident of foodservice, but during the pandemic as after a long 12 months op- did CAB sales where there timism has returned to the was a less established CAB scene. retail presence like the “The ones that remain Caribbean and some parts are the best of the best. of Latin America. On the They are nimble and pro- other hand, Taiwan saw gressive,” she said. in increase in CAB sales As seating capacity and the brand continued ramps back up, diners are to its one-quarter share of choosing places based on all U.S. beef exports to the their pre-pandemic repu- Middle East. Four of CAB’s tation. top ten countries are in “Now is not the time for Asia and expected to an- them to cut quality,” Scott chor 40% of the world’s says.